handspun doily dream catcher

Sometimes handspun yarn just isn't meant to be knitted or crocheted up. I had a basket full of leftover bits of my handspun yarn that wasn't enough to knit or crochet but was too pretty to throw away. I have seen a few doily dream catchers around and thought it would be perfect to use the leftovers on! I spun 21 yards of very thin gray singles and crocheted a small doily and attached it to an embroidery hoop. I wrapped the black yarn around - that helps the gray yarn stay in place and gives it a good finish look. I then tied long strips of bulky yarn to the bottom and attached 2 little gold-dipped feathers to the yarn. It turned out so much prettier than I imagined in my head!

I tried corespinning for the first time this past week. I wasn't sure how I would like it but wow! I love this technique so much! I love spinning it, I love the look of the yarn & I love how the yarn looks when knitted up!


I bought the Aquarius batt from Dawning Dreams on etsy. It really was dreamy! It was incredibly soft and so beautiful!





I spun around a size 10 crochet cotton thread in teal. I ended up with about 64 yards with this 3 oz. batt.



I am hoping to get a pair of small fingerless mitts out of this yarn. I have already started knitting them and I just love watching the colors and textures coming together!

wooldancer

I have been following Michelle Snowdon aka Wooldancer on instagram for a few months now and everytime she posts a new picture of her yarns I just can't help but admire them! She makes the most gorgeous art yarns and she just posted a beautiful short video of her spinning drum roll rolags.

plant hanger

I bought some odds and ends of wool to practice spinning. I spun up this super bulky yarn but it only made a couple yards so instead of knitting or crocheting something with it I chose to make this plant hanger using Julie's of Gleeful Things plant hanger tutorial

If you think our plant looks a little sad it is because our cat, Kizzy, is fixated on chewing the ends of each leaf off... so hanging this up may save this little plants life!

headband wip

pattern: Simple & Bulky Garter Stitch Headband

I'm using this simple pattern to practice slip stitching the edge for a cleaner edge. I'm using some super bulky yarn I spun up before Christmas. Hoping I have enough to finish!

granny hat

This pattern was for a child's hat but once it was finished I decided it was too big for a child. I think this is more of a women's hat.

Hat pattern: Autumn Hat by The Green Dragonfly
Flower pattern: Six-Petal Flower Motif by Lion Brand

heart scarf

Using up scrap yarn = valentine's day scarf!

feather mobile

We recently fixed up our guest room upstairs. It is beginning to be my favorite room in the house. It's so peaceful up there. I usually go up there just to get away from the chaos and mess of the downstairs. One of my favorite details in the room is this feather mobile. 

I painted the tips of the feathers with mod podge and sprinkled gold glitter over the mod podge. I let the feathers dry by sticking the ends into a piece of foam. Once they were dried I tied crochet thread on a stick I found on the beach during one of our vacations. I then tied the the ends of the feather using the thread onto the stick. I dabbed a piece of hot glue to keep them all secure. Simple but lovely!

Feathers were bought from Feather and Earth on Etsy.

wassupbrothers

A while back I did a swap with Olga of Wassupbrothers. I made her this hat. Doesn't she look lovely in it? I hope it keeps her warm this winter!


(This is the adorable little owl she sent me!)

Find her shop here and her blog here

navajo plying

It is funny how once I got my spinning wheel I actually use my spindle more than I did before. I bought some fiber and once I received it I realized it was going to be a pretty rough yarn so I thought this would be the perfect chance to practice navajo plying. I am spinning singles on the wheel and plying using the navajo method on the spindle. Once I feel like I have the hang of it I want to try navajo plying on the wheel.

As a crocheter the navajo method is really fun. It is really just making long chains and spinning it to make a 3-ply yarn. It's really fun on the spindle and I can't wait to try it on the wheel!

birthday party

I can't believe my son is a year old! His party was a great time with family & friends!

arrow rock heritage festival

My friend Elisabeth invited me to go with her to the Arrow Rock Heritage Festival today. Arrow Rock is such a beautiful little town. The leaves were turning pretty colors and the atmosphere was a lot of fun! We really enjoyed ourselves until the storm came through and decided it was time to go. We both found some yarn for ourselves so we were very happy campers! :)

granny square pillow

At the beginning of the summer I had planned on making a granny square blanket and be done with it by fall... well...

That didn't happen but I didn't want to waste the squares I did make so I made a pillow cover with them instead.

It's a little lopsided and uneven in places but I think it's charming in a way. It makes me smile every time I walk by my couch and see it. It reminds me of my great grandmother!

Queen of the Prairies Art Festival

There is no better way to enjoy the first day of Autumn than an art festival and today couldn't have been any more beautiful!
 

I walked outside tonight and it just smelled like fall... I love this time of year! Happy Fall!!

look what i did

While at the fair yesterday I got to meet Jordan of Fluffington Farms. She was super friendly! She let me play around on her daughter's wheel and she was very helpful... and patient :) I had never used a spinning wheel before. It was such a fun experience and I definitely want to get myself a wheel!


You can find her at these places

Etsy : Ravelry : Blog

knit night

I finally got the chance to go to a knit circle here in town. I had been wanting to go for a few weeks but something was always going on. Panera just opened up in town and they started meeting there. I worked on a light crocheted spring scarf but mostly admired the amazing work of the other girls! I really enjoyed myself and loved meeting some other yarn crafters!

When I got home Seth had already gotten Blake to bed so I got to continue crocheting. I started an adorable fuzzy bear hat by Alli Hyer of Alli Crafts. It worked up really fast and I think it turned out adorable!

I also used the same yarn to make a few simple coasters.


And today I used some scrap yarn I had to make a cover for a can using Rachel's of Cornflower Blue pattern.

PIF giveaway!

I participated in Olga's of wassupbrother PIF swap. She made something for the first 3 people to comment on her post and I was one of the lucky 3! I received her package the other day and was beyond excited to see that she had sent one of her adorable owls! I am a huge fan of her work and am soooo happy to own one of her sweet owls!

 

 How cute is he!? If you would like to be the owner of one of these cuties please visit her Etsy shop here! Also follow her blog to keep up with all her latest creations!

 
(Francois owl by wassupbrothers on etsy)

Now it is your turn!

The first 3 people to comment on this post will receive something handmade by me. 

Those 3 people will then:

• do a similar blog post and make something special for those first 3 commenters
• and send me something handmade in return as well

Leave your name and email address and I will contact you to exchange mailing address. 

You must have an active blog to enter!

duct tape bag

Seth had been at camp all week but when he came home this afternoon he surprised me with an adorable duct tape bag that he had made at camp. How adorable is that? I love it when my husband is crafty! And the mustaches..... too cute! He's the best!

yarn-y pretties

I noticed how pretty my coffee table was looking with all my yarn-y projects going on this afternoon. I tend to have 4 or 5 projects going on at once. I like to work on a project for awhile and then take a break from it to work on another. It keeps my attention better. Do you like to work on multiple projects or do you need to work on only one at a time?

paper heart garland

I was needing something to kick some inspiration into my decorating our living room. I was having a hard time making it feel like a fun cozy space.

Luckily, Seth has a good eye for finding furniture for super cheap. He found this little credenza for $2 yesterday and it was just the perfect piece to put on a wall I couldn't figure out what to do with! It could use a little TLC but I love it and the price was pretty sweet too!

Adding this credenza in our living room inspired me to create this paper heart garland last night at 10:30 while watching me some Conan! - It seems like I tend to do a lot of crafting while watching Conan. He is just so funny & that makes for some good crafting when you are laughing and having a good time!

I used this video on youtube to learn the basic of making this garland. I added one more layer then she does in her tutorial plus a strip in the middle with a hole punch to string onto the twine.